How does climate change affect us?
The effects of climate change resulting from increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere include things that have been happening, things that have recently gotten worse and things to happen in the future. Some of the future effects may depend on things that are not yet well understood. That means that we can be fairly sure about some things, especially those that are already happening. These effects will continue, and they are likely to get more extreme. To really go into future projections would require writing that's longer than what's in a typical book. A book written by Climate scientists is Dire Predictions, Dire Predictions, 2nd Edition: Understanding Climate Change: Michael E. Mann, Lee R. Kump: 9781465433640: Amazon.com: Books
Current effects that are likely to continue and to be amplified:
1. On the average the Earth is getting warmer, but this is not happening evenly. The Arctic region is warming faster than any other large region of the Earth. This has seemed to affect the northern jet stream in ways that have resulted in extended dry periods in some regions, increasing precipitation in others, and even greater snow falls in places like parts of norther Europe and eastern North America.
2. Related to #1 is the fact that droughts have gotten more extreme in many parts of the world including the U.S. west coast, much of southern Brazil, parts of Australia, Spain, much of India, parts of China and many other locations: A Global Tour of 7 Recent Droughts. At the same time other regions are experiencing record flooding. I can't remember a 2-day period in which national news outlets weren't reporting on an unusually severe weather system somewhere in the United States in the last 3 months. Things have been even worse in parts of India, Pakistan and many other places in the world.
It's possible to have a drought and flooding in the same area at different times of the year. This happened in much of Texas and Oklahoma earlier this year, and in Western PA, where I live, we had unusually persistent rainfall from late spring though mid July, and one of the worst droughts I've seen in my 60-some years since then. Even my weeds are wilting.
3. Forest fires are getting worse and more frequent. Those who live in the United States know something of that, but we should also understand that this is a world-wide thing: Global Incident Map Displaying Forest Fires
4. Insect pests are found more and more at higher latitudes, and many of them carry diseases.
5. Animals, including fish stocks are moving north in the northern hemisphere. Plants have a harder time doing this, and this will continue to affect forest composition and viability in many areas.
6. Ocean, river and lake waters are warming and acidifying. Fish die offs are increasing. In oceans many species of coral are highly stressed and not likely to survive the changes in their environments. Migrations of fish stocks are making the effects of poor management even worse throughout the world.
7. As I know from personal experience and talking to my allergist, allergies and asthma are getting worse in many places in the world. Definitely so in mine.
8. Hurricanes/typhoons are getting more intense, especially in the Pacific Ocean.
9. Sea level is rising at an increasing rate, and this along with more intense storms is eroding coastal areas and will eventually reduce livable land area.
Current effects that are likely to continue and to be amplified:
1. On the average the Earth is getting warmer, but this is not happening evenly. The Arctic region is warming faster than any other large region of the Earth. This has seemed to affect the northern jet stream in ways that have resulted in extended dry periods in some regions, increasing precipitation in others, and even greater snow falls in places like parts of norther Europe and eastern North America.
2. Related to #1 is the fact that droughts have gotten more extreme in many parts of the world including the U.S. west coast, much of southern Brazil, parts of Australia, Spain, much of India, parts of China and many other locations: A Global Tour of 7 Recent Droughts. At the same time other regions are experiencing record flooding. I can't remember a 2-day period in which national news outlets weren't reporting on an unusually severe weather system somewhere in the United States in the last 3 months. Things have been even worse in parts of India, Pakistan and many other places in the world.
It's possible to have a drought and flooding in the same area at different times of the year. This happened in much of Texas and Oklahoma earlier this year, and in Western PA, where I live, we had unusually persistent rainfall from late spring though mid July, and one of the worst droughts I've seen in my 60-some years since then. Even my weeds are wilting.
3. Forest fires are getting worse and more frequent. Those who live in the United States know something of that, but we should also understand that this is a world-wide thing: Global Incident Map Displaying Forest Fires
4. Insect pests are found more and more at higher latitudes, and many of them carry diseases.
5. Animals, including fish stocks are moving north in the northern hemisphere. Plants have a harder time doing this, and this will continue to affect forest composition and viability in many areas.
6. Ocean, river and lake waters are warming and acidifying. Fish die offs are increasing. In oceans many species of coral are highly stressed and not likely to survive the changes in their environments. Migrations of fish stocks are making the effects of poor management even worse throughout the world.
7. As I know from personal experience and talking to my allergist, allergies and asthma are getting worse in many places in the world. Definitely so in mine.
8. Hurricanes/typhoons are getting more intense, especially in the Pacific Ocean.
9. Sea level is rising at an increasing rate, and this along with more intense storms is eroding coastal areas and will eventually reduce livable land area.
Really Nice post
ReplyDeleteThe knowledge you are providing is real awakening.
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